Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has appointed Joachim Nagel President of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Mr Steinmeier presented the certificate of appointment to Mr Nagel, who holds a PhD in economics, at Schloss Bellevue on 7 January. The ceremony marking the change of office for the tenth President of the Bundesbank will take place on 11 January in Frankfurt and will be streamed live.

Vice-President Claudia M. Buch points out that an unexpected economic downturn could be amplified if the banking sector deleverages to maintain capital ratios. Hence, “banks must maintain capital buffers designed to absorb losses and thereby stabilizing lending”, Buch stated at an event in Dublin. 

The international Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) has published its first progress report to coincide with the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The profitability of German credit institutions deteriorated in 2018, as the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report reveals in an analysis of the annual accounts of German banks. Profit for the financial year fell significantly compared to the previous year, down by 31% to €18.9 billion.